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Dairy
Easy
1 Hour, 20 Minutes
Diets 
When looking for recipes for an easy and quick melavah malkah buffet, soup and sandwiches are not usually on the menu. Yet after serving this combo in mini form last year at a big corporate Chanukah event I catered, it has now become my most favorite and truly the easiest go-to staple dish when organizing a dairy buffet. The soup and sandwiches can all be prepped a few days before with literally just 15 minutes needed to bake and assemble before your party. Serving the soups in small glass ball jars (that I found in Walmart for $.99 each) helped keep the soup steamed and the sandwiches warm when I laid them on top with a toothpick. But the beauty of this combo recipe is not only it’s simplicity in prep and presentation, served hot or at room temperature, your party guests will have a taste of delicious comfort food that will have them coming back to the buffet line more than once.
3 tablespoons olive oil
12 large Jersey tomatoes, halved
3 large yellow onions, cut into large chunks
7 to 8 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons Haddar Kosher Salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoons fresh ground Gefen Black Pepper
2 teaspoons Gefen Dried Basil
3/4 cup heavy cream (to keep calories down you can substitute with 1/4 cup cream and 1/2 cup whole milk)
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 loaf soft white or rye bread
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Gefen Garlic Powder
fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
sharp cheddar cheese, sliced
2 tablespoons Gefen Dried Oregano
Pre-heat oven to 375ºF. Using a pastry brush, coat a baking sheet with some of the olive oil.
Place the tomatoes, cut side down, onto prepared baking sheet. Wedge the onions and garlic in between the tomato slices. Using the pastry brush again, brush the remaining olive oil over the tops of all the vegetables. Sprinkle all the spices evenly over the vegetables. Bake for 45 minutes, until tomatoes and onions are fully roasted and easily pierced with a fork.
Place vegetables with all the pan juices into a soup pot. Using an immersion blender, blend until creamy smooth. Stir in heavy cream.
Bring soup to a simmer over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
It’s best to make this soup no more than two days in advance. Leave out the last step and and leave in fridge covered tightly (bring to a simmer before serving). If you would like to make this more in advance and freeze, leave out the cream until you are ready to rewarm and serve. Yield: serves 12 to 15 (6 to 8-ounce size cup)
Pre-heat oven to 350ºF. Coat a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil.
Using a small (three by three-inch) square cookie cutter or a knife, cut out your sandwich tops and bottoms. Place the bottoms onto the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle a little olive oil over the bread. Sprinkle some garlic powder and oregano over all the bread and add both cheese slices.
Cover the cheese with the cut out bread tops and drizzle a little more olive oil over the tops. Garnish with a light sprinkle more of the garlic powder and oregano.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until cheese has melted and the tops are golden brown and crusty.
Assemble all the sandwiches up to two days before. Place them on a baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic, and refrigerate. Right before your party, uncover and bake in oven. Yield: serves 12
How Would You
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No water?
The tomatoes have their own liquid, and the cream and or the milk makes up the rest. No need for water.